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Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan – TheSyrian regime called upon the residents of Hasakah province in northeast Syria to join the recently established pro-Assad militia of “al-Maghawir”, by distributing posters and leaflets through proponents working in al-Baath unions and partisan branches.

General Mohammad Khadour, military governor of Hasakah province, invited the Arab residents to join the newly formed militia, claiming it will defend the area from extremist rebels.

“Joining al-Maghawir is to participate in the efforts to eradicate terrorism in Hasakah and to defend the country’s dignity and land,” Khadour was quoted in one of the posters which appeared across Hasakah city.

According to observers, the formation of an Arab militia in the area is meant to fight the Kurds rather than to combat terrorism, especially with the growing power of the Kurdish forces and their gains against militants of the Islamic State (IS/ISIS).

Local sources told ARA News that participants will receive salaries and be treated and reimbursed like soldiers in the army, by joining the national defense centers and army units in the city under the banner of al-Maghawir.

“Salaries will exceed 35,000 Syrian Pounds; that is why more than one thousand young men have already joined the forces,” an opposition activist told ARA News in Hasakah, under the condition of anonymity. “Moreover, civil servants will receive a 100% increase of their salaries, if they join, regardless of their workplace, the prerequisite is to already be an employee of one of the governmental institutions.”

Political activist Yusuf Suleiman from the city of Hasakah told ARA News “the regime attempts to use young men to support its presence and to use them later on in its ‘conspiracies’.”

Suleiman accused the Syrian regime of nurturing sectarianism in the Kurdish-majority province of Hasakah.

“Establishing such a militia will guarantee Assad that the Kurds won’t be the only force in power in the area if the situation further deteriorate,” he told ARA News. “A Kurdish-Arab civil war could take place at any moment in the area.”